Prairie Rose hosts last board meeting of the school year

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

With school nearly out for the summer, the Prairie Rose Public Schools’ board of Trustees met on June 21 for one last meeting before the office goes quiet until September.

This meeting lacked the usual presentation from one of the division’s many schools, instead opting for an Executive Report from superintendent Reagan Weeks, who shared a few of the goings-on that occurred since the last meeting, such as the Foremost Rodeo Academy’s Rodeo.

“So this was a spectacular event that occurred last week. The Foremost Rodeo Academy put the event together, and that included all of the plans for the concessions and rodeo events themselves,” said Weeks. “They demonstrated the new equipment that the academy purchased and I can tell you that the event was received with great enthusiasm. There was a large number of community members who were in attendance and the pride and efforts that the students put into putting the event together was evident throughout the evening.”

It was also noted that Irvine School had partnered with Western Tractor for a six-week CTF option course.

“The last thing that I wanted to share today in the Executive Report is that as of this morning, we have signed an agreement with SAIT for additional post secondary options that are two credit options for all of our students,” said Weeks. 

These offerings include aircraft structures, introduction to business, and “a whole host of additional course offerings, for high school students to pursue,” said Weeks.

Derek Beck presented the Occupational Health & Safety Accountability Report. It was noted that this past year in-house training was provided in the following areas: Standard First Aid to 48 staff in five different schools, and that student absenteeism is continuing to be tracked in order to help better assist public health officials in detecting and tracking infectious diseases and responding to public health emergencies.

It was also noted that the number of in-school injuries has dropped over the past three years.

The Board also received the Support Services/Inclusive Education Accountability Report for information, which detailed some of the ways that they can support staff members in dealing with students who are struggling.

One such method that was brought up was SIVA, or “supporting individuals through valued attachments.” Part of this method is ensuring each student has a trusted adult in the school, with part of their job being to connect with their students.

It was noted that this may result in a lot of conversations about pokemon at younger levels, but it is very effective at fostering trust and communication between students and staff.

Other aspects of the report included highlighting current support staff, such as the two speech pathologists currently working with the division, and where the current support structures can be improved to better serve the different needs of the many unique schools within the division.